Noted English writer Amitav Ghosh conferred 54th Jnanpith award

New Delhi: Leading contemporary English writer Amitav Ghosh was on Wednesday conferred the 54th Jnanpith award for the year2018 for his “outstanding contribution towards literature”.

Former Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi presented the prestigious award to Ghosh at a ceremony here this evening. Renowned Odia writer Pratibha Ray was also present on the occasion.

Ghosh is the first Indian author in English language to be honoured with the Jnanpith award.

His famous books include The Circle of Reason (1986), The Shadow Lines (1988), The Calcutta Chromosome (1996), The Hungry Tide (2004), Sea of Poppies (2008), The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016).

The 62-year-old author, who currently lives in New York with his wife Deborah Baker, has also been honoured with the Padma Shri and Sahitya Akademi Award in the past.

Instituted in 1961, the Jnanpith award is bestowed only on Indian writers writing in Indian languages included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India and English with no posthumous conferral.

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